Patients undergoing medical treatment often require a form of intravenous (IV) therapy, in which a fluid is administered to the patient through a vein of the patient. IV therapy is among the fastest ways to deliver fluids and medications into the body of the patient. Intravenously infused fluids, which typically include saline, drugs, blood, and/or antibiotics, are conventionally introduced to the patient through a flexible catheter positioned at any of several venous routes, such as peripheral veins and central veins.
To set up IV therapy with conventional devices and methods, the caregiver positions the catheter over the selected vein and uses a needle within the catheter to pierce the skin and allow insertion of the distal end of the catheter into the vein. The proximal end of the catheter, relative to the midline of the catheter, is fixed to the end of a catheter hub that is proximal relative to the midline of the patient. The caregiver connects the catheter to a fluid supply through external tubing, including extension tubing that is typically attached to the catheter hub and that the caregiver typically bends into a U-shape to accommodate the typical opposite positions of the catheter and IV fluid source. To avoid unscheduled IV line restarts, the catheter and tubing are typically secured against the skin of the patient with tape or similar catheter stabilization devices (CSDs) such as adhesive stabilizing pads that restrain the catheter hub.
However, these conventional devices and methods for IV therapy have drawbacks. The extension tubing may catch on nearby obstacles during patient movement or caregiver manipulation, which may cause painful vein irritation and comprise the IV. Tape and other existing CSDs are not optimal for stabilization because securing the round, rigid, and bulky components such as the catheter and tubing against relative flat skin can be difficult and ineffective. Tape and other existing CSDs do not fully prevent the catheter from moving within the vein, which leads to patient-endangering complications including catheter dislodgement, infiltration (fluid entering surrounding tissue instead of the vein) and phlebitis (inflammation of the vein). Adhesive stabilizing pads tend to result in other undesired effects, such as skin irritation and/or breakdown due to prolonged concentrated adhesion to the skin. Furthermore, tape and current CSDs do not prevent the catheter from painfully and dangerously pivoting around the insertion site and moving within the vein.
Thus, there is a need in the medical care field to create an improved vascular delivery system. This invention provides such an improved vascular delivery system.